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Inmate Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

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Executions, News
Capital Punishment, Citizen executed, Citizen execution, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, death sentences, Karaj, Rajai Shahr Prison, Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj

A man named Jafar was recently executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the prisoner had previously been sentenced to death for murder, and the sentence was later upheld by the Supreme Court.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death. According to the same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Mohammad Ali Mansouri Sent on Leave after Enduring 14 Years in Prison

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News, Prisoners
Hunger Strike, Karaj, Medical leave, medical negligence, MEK, Mohammad Ali (Piruz) mansouri, Mohammad Ali Mansouri, Mr. Mansouri, People's Mojahedin Organization, Political Prisoners, Rajai Shahr Prison, Rajai-Shahr

On Thursday, September 9, Mohammad Ali (Piruz) Mansouri was sent on leave for the first time after serving 14 years in prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mansouri is a political prisoner in poor health who has been serving out his sentence in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

Previously, on September 3, following a heart attack, Mr. Mansouri was transferred to a hospital in Karaj, where he was shackled to the bed despite his condition.

Mansouri was arrested in September 2007 after attending the 19th anniversary of the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, sentenced Mr. Mansouri to 17 years in prison, transfer to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, and a fine of 150,000 tomans on a charge of “communicating and collaborating with the People’s Mujahedin Organization (MEK)”. The sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeals.

In May 2018, on the pretext of [conducting] “activities inside the prison” such as going on a hunger strike, inciting prisoners, and writing a statement in support of the Sunni prisoners, Mr. Mansouri was charged with “community and collusion against the regime” and sentenced to another five years in prison.

 

Saeed Fathi Nejad Sentenced to Three Years and 7 Months in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners
Citizen arrest, Citizen detention, Fathi Nejad, Mahabad, Mahabad Prison, membership in an opposition group, Saeed Fathi Nejad, Saeid Fathi Nejad, Security forces

The Revolutionary Court of Mahabad sentenced Saeed Fathi Nejad, a citizen currently detained in Mahabad Prison, to three years and seven months in prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Mr. Fathi Nejad received this sentence on a charge of “membership in an opposition group”.

He was arrested by security forces in mid-June without a court order and was transferred to Mahabad Prison after being interrogated.

28-year-old Saeed Fathi Nejad has been denied access to a lawyer and family visits during his detention.

Ali Mardan Boland Gerami Executed in Yasuj Prison after Receiving Sentence Based Solely on “Qassameh”

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Executions, News
Ali Mardan Boland Gerami, Capital Punishment, Citizen executed, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, Gerami, iran executions, Qassameh, Yasuj, Yasuj Prison

At dawn on Wednesday, September 8, Ali Mardan Boland Gerami, was executed in Yasuj Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Gerami was sentenced to death for murder based on “Qasameh”, an accepted form of proof of guilt within Iran’s legal system based solely on relatives’ oaths.

Mr. Gerami was sentenced to death for murdering his wife, and, while the court did not find adequate evidence, it made the ruling based on the swearing of the wife’s family.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death. According to the same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Roozbeh Piri Arrested by Security Forces in Tabriz

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Ethnic Minorities, Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners
Azerbaijani Turk activist, East Azerbaijan province, Judge Mikael Vatankhan Alvar, Mikael Vatankhah Alvar, Piri, Roozbeh Piri, Tabriz, Tabriz Prison

Yesterday, September 9, Azerbaijani Turk activist Roozbeh Piri was beaten, arrested, and transferred to an unknown location by security forces in Tabriz.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the reasons for Mr. Piri’s detention and his current whereabouts are still unknown.

Earlier, Branch 103 of the Criminal Court of Tabriz, presided over by Judge Mikael Vatankhah Alvar, sentenced Roozbeh Piri to pay a fine of 5 million tomans for “publishing lies in cyberspace”. The Court of Appeal of East Azerbaijan Province upheld the verdict of the primary court.

Piri had previously been arrested and convicted for his peaceful activities. He was arrested during the nationwide protests in Tabriz in November 2019 and sentenced by the court of appeals to 91 days in prison. Mr. Piri was released from Tabriz Prison in July 2020 after enduring his sentence.

Roozbeh Piri is the editor of Tabriz Magazine and the founder of Navid Etedal, an independent student organization at Tabriz Azad University.

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Concern Increases about Political Prisoner Zahra Safaei’s Condition Following her Transfer to Unknown Location

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Environment, Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners, Women
Medical care, medical neglect, medical negligence, Mohammad Mehdi Shamirzadi, Prison conditions, Qarchak Prison, Qarchak Prison in Varamin, Sadaei, Varamin, Zahra Safaei

On Saturday, September 4, political prisoner Zahra Safaei was transferred from prison to an unknown location following a heart attack.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Safaei was being held in Qarchak Prison in Varamin until  her transfer.

Neglect of Ms. Safaei’s condition, especially after her recent heart attack and poor physical condition, has raised concerns among her family. She had also been transferred to Sattari Hospital in Qarchak last week on the order of a prison doctor but was returned to prison without medical treatment.

Ms. Safaei was summoned in July 2020 and was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin the next day since she was not able to provide the required bail of ten billion tomans.

In January of this year, Branch 23 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Mohammad Mehdi Shahmirzadi, sentenced Ms. Safaei to 5 years in prison on a charge of “propaganda activities against the national security”, one year in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the regime”, and 2 years in prison on the charge of “insulting the leadership and founder of the Islamic Republic”.

She was also sentenced to a ban from leaving the country and from joining political parties and social groups.

Zahra Safaei has a history of arrest. She spent time in prison as a social-political activist in the 1980s. Her father was executed in the 1980s for supporting MEK.

Safaei’s location and fate are unknown as of this writing.

At Least Four Civil Activists Detained for Several Hours Following a Protest Rally in Tehran

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Ethnic Minorities, Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners
Afghanistan, Ahmad Reza Haeri, Islamic Emirate, Mohammadi, Narges Mohammadi, Nazemi, Panjshir, Pouran Nazemi, Taliban, Tehran, Vida Rabbani

On Wednesday, September 8, a number of civil activists were arrested in a protest rally related to the recent changes in Afghanistan and taken to an unknown location.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Narges Mohammadi, Ahmad Reza Haeri, Pouran Nazemi, Vida Rabbani were among the arrested activists.

The rally was marred by violence by security and police forces. The mobile phones of several protesters were confiscated and only returned on condition of deleting the taken videos and photos. Some Afghans are said to be among the detainees.

Protesters carried placards and chanted slogans in support of Panjshir resistance and Afghan women, and against the Taliban and the Islamic Emirate.

The arrested activists were released after a couple of hours, on the evening of the same day.

Recently, Branch 2 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office filed a lawsuit against Ms. Nazemi and Ms. Mohammadi, and seven other activists. These activists were also arrested and detained for a couple hours on July 20 during a rally in support of the people of Khuzestan in Tehran.

 

Two Citizens Detained in Sanandaj and Taken to Unknown Location

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News, Prisoners
Baluch citizens, Behrouz Azizi, Citizen arrests, Citizen detention, Citizen detentions, Citizens arrested, Kurdistan Province, Mehrab, Rasoul Azizian, Sanandaj

On Monday, September 6, two citizens were arrested by security forces in Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, the citizens were taken to an unknown location following their arrest.

The report has identified the detainees as Behrouz Azizi and Rasoul Azizian, both from the village of Mehrab in the Sanandaj area. The reasons for their detention and whereabouts are still unknown.

Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence Issued in Yazd

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Executions, News, Prisoners
Capital Punishment, Citizen executions, citizen executions per-capita, Death row, Gholam-Ali Dehshiri, iran death penalty, Supreme Court, Yazd, Yazd Province

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Tasnim, the Supreme Court recently upheld the death sentence issued in Yazd.

Gholam-Ali Dehshiri, the Chief Justice of Yazd Province, announced a death sentence of a person who was “fortune-teller” on a charge of “corruption”, and said that this sentence had recently been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death. According to the same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Eight Economic Defendants Sentenced to Lashes in Tehran

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News
Abolfazl Maleki Shamsabadi, Alireza Alaei Rahmani, cruel punishment, Marjan Shaykh-ol-Eslami, Mohsen Ahmadian, Mostafa Tehrani, Reza Hamzeh-Lou, Sam Hamed Sa’edian, Samimi Na’eb, Zabihollah Khodaeian

Recently, eight economic defendants in Tehran were sentenced to imprisonment and lashes.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the IRIB, part of the case is still under process in court.

Based on this report, Zabihollah Khodaeian, the spokesman of the Judiciary, announced that Reza Hamzeh-Lou, Abbas Samimi Na’eb, Alireza Alaei Rahmani, Mostafa Tehrani, Mohsen Ahmadian, and Marjan Shaykh-ol-Eslami received the same charges and sentences.

According to Khodaeian, they were charged with “participating in major disruptions in the economic system through manipulation in the distribution of 6 billion and 656 million euros, earned from the export of petrochemical products”, and each were sentenced to 20 years in prison, 74 lashes, financial penalties, and permanent deprivation of any government services.

Khodaeian added, “Also, Sam Hamed Sa’edian and Abolfazl Maleki Shamsabadi were each sentenced to 15 years in prison, 74 lashes in public, and deprivation of any government services along with financial punishment on charges of participating in major disruptions in the country’s economic system.”

According to Khodaeian, these rulings are final and unable to be appealed unless by retrial.

Iran is one of the few countries that has continued to use humiliating punishments despite the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights explicit prohibition of the use of inhumane and degrading punishments, including the death penalty and flogging.